By Jake Donovan

Vyacheslav Glazkov and Steve Cunningham both appear on HBO for the first time, as they collide in a crucial heavyweight clash. The winner will join a crowded field of mandatory challengers awaiting their crack at World heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko.

The bout takes place Saturday evening at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec City, Canada. In the main event, Sergey Kovalev defends his light heavyweight belts versus former divisional king Jean Pascal. 

Glazkov (19-0-1, 12KOs) scored the biggest win of his career exactly 52 weeks ago, taking a decisive decision over former cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek last March. The win was a passing of the torch fight in terms of heavyweight contenders under the Main Events banner; the company had pushed Adamek long and hard, even well past his best sell date, but Father Time caught up with the Polish boxer, paving the way for Glazkov elevate in the rankings.

The win went a long way towards establishing his presence as a heavyweight contender, though didn’t completely remove the bad taste left behind from the lone blemish on his record. Glazkov was considered fortunate to escape with a draw in a Feb. ’13 clash with then-unbeaten Malik Scott. Nor did he impress in closer-than-expected wins over journeymen Derrick Rossy and Garrett Wilson. 

Cunningham (28-6, 13KOs) has long represented boxing’s premiere feel good story. In addition to the recent run of the former cruiserweight champ taking on much larger opposition at heavyweight, the Philly native and former Navy soldier was – along with wife and manager Livvy – forced to contend with the sobering tale of his daughter Kennedy fighting for her life while awaiting a heart transplant.

Their prayers were answered late last year when a donor became available for the precious 9-year old, who underwent successful surgery. 

All that’s left to do now for Cunningham, is fight… in the ring. His heavyweight run has produced up-and-down results. A long-sought rematch with Tomasz Adamek resulted in one of the worst decisions of 2012, with Cunningham offering one of the best performances of his career only to land on the wrong end of a horrific split decision. 

The bout aired live on NBC during a Saturday afternoon presentation, as did his next fight – a heroic effort versus Tyson Fury. Cunningham floored the hulking heavyweight early on, but the size difference was ultimately too much to overcome as he was later dropped an stopped in the 7th round of their April ’13 clash. 

His best win to date came last April, rising from the canvas to outpoint unbeaten Amir Mansour in what was one of the best fights of 2014. His most recent ring performance saw the 38-year old climb off the canvas to batter undefeated Nate Visina into submission after seven rounds last October, his last fight before the family focused its time and attention on Kennedy’s surgery and recovery.

See how the staff at BoxingScene.com believes tonight’s heavyweight action plays out.

BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS:

VYACHESLAV GLAZKOV vs. STEVE CUNNINGHAM

Ryan Burton (Glazkov UD):

This fight will be competitive but the younger fresher fighter will prevail.

Jake Donovan (Cunningham SD):

See Tomasz Adamek-Cunningham II and Glazkov-Malik Scott for a blueprint of how this turns out – except with two of the three judges getting it right in the end. 

Takahiro Onaga (Glazkov UD):

Glazkov takes a close win over Cunningham, who even in defeat shows he still has life left in his career.

Cliff Rold (Cunningham Dec.):

Glazkov looked okay beating Adamek but he hasn't really looked like a contender yet. Cunningham may hit the floor; he often does.  When he gets up, he outboxes Glazkov enough to win the fight.

Victor Salazar (Cunningham SD):

This is an interesting fight. Glazkov has proven he can be out boxed while Cunningham’s chin isn’t quite suited for his move to heavyweight. Cunningham was dropped twice by Amir Mansour, once by Tyson Fury, and even by Natu Visinia last October. But Glazkov is very one dimensional. If you give him some sort of movements or different angles, he seemed perplexed. I see Cunningham out boxing Glazkov while tasting the canvas once and finally being on the right end of a decision.

Reynaldo Sanchez (Glazkov TKO8):

An old and rusty Cunningham tries to comeback…but he faces a stronger man in Glazkov where he doesn’t have any physical advantages.

Alexey Sukachev (Glazkov MD):

Glazkov is an enigma. He can look a perfect fighter - sometimes. Other times, he looks as horrible as he looked against Derrick Rossy. Who will appear come fight time. The guess here is that one to appear is a better version of Glazkov. Cunningham will deal him numerous problems but at the end of the day he isn't one with the peanuts.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox